How ‘High-Expectations Teaching’ has Transformed our Primary School

We’re a school in Leicestershire with 201 junior pupils, and for the last couple of years we’ve been doing work around removing the ceiling on learning. We want to maximise the learning trajectory of every child, ensuring that there are no limits on their learning, regardless of starting point and background.

It’s an area I love researching, and as I was Googling away one day I came across of the work of Professor Christine Rubie-Davies in New Zealand.

On the off-chance, I emailed her, explaining what we’d been doing, and asking if she had any recommendations for how to put her theories into practice. It turned out she liked what we were doing, so we kept in touch.

After an initial meeting, the chance came in September this year for her to visit our school and talk about High Expectations practice in person. We’d just converted to an academy and formed a MAT with three other schools (the Oval Learning Trust), and I thought an after-school event would be a good opportunity for them to get involved.

The professor arrived at the end of the school day, and met first with some of our pupils who presented her with some work they’d prepared. Since it was a twilight session, we wanted to put on some nice refreshments with a ‘high tea’ theme to go with ‘High Expectations’.

The Professor’s visit gave us a real awareness of the factors influencing teacher expectations and behaviours. Through a combination of ongoing CPD, monitoring and coaching activity, our aims therefore currently include the following:

• That children have a teacher who believes in and empowers each one of them
• A working awareness of factors that influence teacher expectations and behaviours
• Lesson design that enables all children to be equitably and optimally challenged
• Goal-setting as an ambitious, active classroom practice that engages learners
• A positive classroom climate in which all children are treated equitably
• Teachers being supportive of the children, and children supportive of each other
• Body language and classroom dialogue that fosters optimal relationships and promotes self-esteem
• That pupil premium children achieve and progress in line with their peers

The impact it’s had is already clear. I recently had a Y2 pupil knock on my door, and holding his maths book he was desperate to tell me, “Mrs Price, look at this – I didn’t think I could, but look at this work. I can do it.” His exact words then were, “I’m proud and I’m surprised.”